


love me your own special way

by tourmalinex



Series: Distant Blue, Grounded Green [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, but god does he spoil haru to no end, makoto still can't cook for shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 09:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7971613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tourmalinex/pseuds/tourmalinex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Haruka gets sick, Makoto does his best to make sure that he feels better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	love me your own special way

Classes were grueling, to say the least. Makoto was only halfway through the year, and part of him already felt like he was in over his head. While he was genuinely fascinated by the topics, but the sheer length of the lectures tested his patience and resolve. He felt blessed knowing that he had no classes tomorrow. By the time Makoto was walking towards the train station to go back home, he received a phone call from Haruka, which was strange given that Haruka was more of a texting person.

“Hey, Haru. What’s—”

“Oh! It’s a guy!”

Makoto’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Hello?”

“Ah, Tachibana? I’m Okada Hideaki. I’m the captain of the Tsudou University Swim Team.”

_The captain? How come he has Haru’s phone?_

“How soon do you think you can get here?” Hideaki asked.

“Oh, um,” Makoto looked at his watch. _2:17 P.M._ “I can be there in about forty minutes. What’s wrong? Where’s Haru?”

“You were put down as Nanase’s emergency contact. We were in a bit of a rush, so we went ahead and used his phone.” Makoto’s grip on his cell phone weakened. “Ah—but he’s fine right now. In short, Nanase’s an idiot. He was running a fever, so we tried to send him home. But then the idiot ignored us and nearly passed out in the pool.”

Makoto sighed in relief, knowing that while Haruka wasn’t well, he wasn’t in a horrible situation. How could Haruka be so reckless with himself like that?  
“He needed help to get to the locker room, so it’s probably best if someone came to pick him up.”

“I understand. I’ll try to hurry.”

* * *

Finding his way across campus wasn’t nearly as bad as Makoto had thought. While he visited Haruka on campus before, it was hard to remember exactly where the indoor pool was, given the size of the campus. Luckily Makoto managed to find it and arrived within the time frame he gave the captain. As he entered the building, Makoto approached the older man at the front desk.

“Hello. I’m Tachibana Makoto. I was told to pick up Nanase Haruka.”

“Ah, yes. Okada mentioned you would come by.” The older man stood up and pointed at a pair of blue doors. “They should be waiting for you right past there.”

“Thank you.” Makoto bowed his head slightly and walked over. He could hear a loud voice from the other side, but couldn’t make out what was being said. While he didn’t want to interrupt what was going on, Makoto reached out for the handle and opened the door. Sure enough, Haruka was sitting on a bench next to the doorway. The lower half of his face was concealed by a white surgical mask and his eyes were red and watery. Next to him was another man who had his arms crossed and his lips pressed in a thin line. The other man stood up and held his hand out to Makoto.

“Hello. I’m Okada. I spoke with you earlier on the phone.”

Makoto reached out and shook his hand. “Tachibana. I’m really sorry about this. Haru can be stubborn sometimes.” As he glanced down at Haruka, he noticed a glare as if he were saying _Don’t talk about me like I’m a little kid._

“Thanks again for looking after him.” Okada smacked Haruka’s shoulder, making Makoto jump back. “You need to be more careful! Your body doesn’t belong to just you anymore! You’re part of a team, so take care of yourself, damn it!”

“Ah,” was all Haruka could manage as he stood up.

Okada sighed. “I mean it. Don’t come back unless you’re in peak condition!” He turned to Makoto, nodded and walked off, presumably back to the pool.

“C’mon Haru, let’s go.” Makoto held out his hand. “Need me to carry your bag?”

While Haruka shook his head, the moment he tried to take a few steps, he stumbled. Makoto managed to grab a hold of him, then took his bag. “I’m going to take that as a 'yes.' Here, let me take it for you.”

With some hesitation, Haruka passed his bag over. “I’m not a child anymore,” he muttered through the mask.

“That may be so,” Makoto began as they walked. “But given the circumstances, I think you should be listening to other people. How did you get sick in the first place? You were fine a few days ago.”

Haruka looked away, trying to avoid all eye contact. Knowing that his boyfriend was very much guilty of _something_ , Makoto refused to look away until he got an answer.

“I fell asleep in the tub,” Haruka quietly admitted..

“What?! Haru!” Makoto shouted, nearly dropping their bags. “You're lucky you're just sick! You could drown that way!”

The blue-eyed boy shrugged. “... twice.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Makoto said sternly. _Oh, no._ His dreaded “mom-voice,” as dubbed by Nagisa. “Until you get better, I’m going to be staying with you to make sure that you rest properly!”

With a small, exasperated sigh, Haruka nodded his head as they continued to walk towards the station. He knew very well that he wasn’t going to get off the hook just because he was sick. Once Makoto was in his caretaker mode, there was no going back—not that Haruka particularly minded these days. In the past, he thought of Makoto as meddlesome and sometimes straight-up annoying. But Haruka was also aware that Makoto just wanted the best for him, so begrudgingly, he surrendered.

* * *

The tiny apartment was well-kept, just as Makoto expected. After taking off their shoes and putting their bags in Haruka’s room. To make overnight visits easier, both of them agreed to have some of each other’s clothes in their prospective apartments. Though he was initially embarrassed, Haruka couldn’t deny that he liked having his boyfriend’s clothes and even wore them around the apartment on days Makoto was too busy to come by.

“Alright, you should go ahead and take a _warm_ bath,” Makoto ordered. “I’ll be timing you, so you better get out when I say.”

“…fine.” Haruka's eyes narrowed. The tub, his place of solace, now had limited time. He shuffled to his room to get a fresh change of clothes. As soon as Haruka stepped into the bathroom, Makoto pulled out his phone and dialed his home number.

“Hello? This is the Tachibana residence.”

“Mom, it's me.”

“Oh, Makoto! It's good to hear from you! How are you?”

“I'm fine, mom,” he said, smiling. “But there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“Hm? Is something wrong?”

“I'm at Haru's place,” he began. “He has a fever. What do you put in the tea that you make when I get sick?”

“Ah, it's just a few thin slices of ginger, lemon and any tea we have.” His mother gave a thoughtful hum. “Make sure that he dresses warmly and make sure he stays hydrated. Oh! And some soup would be good for him, but that's something you should order.”

“Yeah,” Makoto agreed. “I'm still not that great at cooking, no matter how hard I try to thing.”

“Don't get yourself sick, either.”

“I won't. Thanks, mom. I'll call you tomorrow.”

“No problem. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

As he hung up, Makoto could hear Haruka splashing around in the bathtub, probably trying to find a comfortable way to sit. _I could make the tea a bit later_. He walked into Haruka's bedroom, grabbed the blanket and put it on the couch. To say he was worried would be a vast understatement. There were only a few incidents in the past where Haruka nearly dozed off in the bathtub, and all of those times nearly gave Makoto a heart attack. He didn't even want to consider having his boyfriend and his best friend out of his life. Was something stressing him out? Haruka wasn't great at communicating his feelings, so it's entirely possible that he's having a hard time.

_I should trust him to tell me._

After a few more minutes, Makoto knocked on the bathroom door. “Haru, time to get out!” He put his ear to the door, waiting to hear Haruka coming out of the water. Once he heard the splashing, Makoto sighed in relief and sat down on the couch, waiting.

“If you want, you can take a bath, too.” Haruka said, stepping out of the bathroom. To Makoto's surprise, he was wearing his surgical mask.

“It's okay, I'll take one later.” Makoto patted the seat next to him. “Why are you wearing that?”

“… midterms are coming up.” Haruka sat down and let Makoto put the blanket over them. “I don't want to get you sick.”

“I'll be fine, Haru.” Makoto wrapped one of his arms around Haruka's shoulder. “You can rest on me, y'know.”

“Like I said, I don't want to get you sick.” And yet a moment later, Haruka allowed himself to lean his head against Makoto's shoulder.

The silence between them was comfortable and Makoto didn't want to trade it for the world—except for the fact that his boyfriend was sick. With his other hand, Makoto took hold of Haruka's and stroked his thumb over the other's knuckles.

“It really scared me when you said you fell asleep in the tub. I don't want to think about losing you... has something been on your mind lately?” he asked quietly.

“Sort of,” Haruka confessed. “But it's not a big deal.”

“I'm here for you, okay?” Makoto brought his boyfriend's hand to his mouth, giving it a quick kiss. “Whatever it is, I don't want you to think you have to do something alone.”

“… do you think I'm abnormal?”

The question caught Makoto off guard. What would make him think that way? Was he eccentric? Yes, by all accounts. Makoto couldn't think of any other person that loved the water as much as his boyfriend did. But everyone had a quirk.

“Of course I don't.” Makoto kissed the top of Haruka's head. “Did someone say something to you?”

Haruka shook his head. “I just look at other people and wonder how they can get along with each other so well. They're really obnoxious, but they look like they're having fun.”

That was understandable. Makoto would be lying if he said that it was easy to adjust to a new environment. However, he _always_ had an easier time than Haruka, who was more distant and had a tendency to stick to himself. Makoto had an outwardly friendly nature, while Haruka was terse and direct. It didn’t help matters that they attended different universities.

“I miss everyone back at Iwatobi, too.” Makoto sighed. “I was excited to come out here, but I was a bit scared, too.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Haruka said, looking up at Makoto.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Makoto gave him a soft smile and pressed his lips gently where Haruka’s lips would be if it weren’t for the mask. When he pulled away, he couldn’t tell if Haruka’s face was red from the fever, or if he was flustered.

“... idiot. You’ll get sick that way.”

* * *

Regrettably, Makoto couldn’t see visit his boyfriend that day because of a group project. The friends in his class teased him constantly that he couldn’t visit his precious Haru-chan after seeing him mope around. To cheer him up, they agreed to have a long meeting today so that they could spend less time tomorrow. As they walked over to the campus library, Makoto heard his phone going off. When he noticed the text from Haruka, he quickly tapped on it. He had received a picture of Haruka and a few other guys. They were all smiling while he looked away—something that hasn’t changed and amused Makoto greatly. Below the picture was a message.

> **_I have new friends… I think._ **

Makoto smiled. He knew Haruka would be fine. Before silencing his phone, Makoto sent out a message.

> **_I wish I could see you today, but I have a group assignment. Tell me about them tomorrow? I hope you’re having fun! I love you!_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So I guess I turned this into a series, because why not? The series is gonna focus on their couple-y life together and I'll probably add the other characters into it at some point. Though really, it’s just an excuse for me to do fluffy makoharu stuff because these two are adorable. 
> 
> The title comes from Heatwave's "Always and Forever," because I'm a sap.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope this was alright and I'll see y'all next water time.


End file.
